Consultation into Wirral Council cuts ends today (From Wirral Globe)
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Consultation into Wirral Council cuts ends today
10:13am Thursday 31st January 2013 in News By Leigh Marles
Consultation into Wirral Council cuts ends today
MORE than 6,200 people have taken part in a major consultation into Wirral Council spending cuts.
The three-month “What Really Matters” exercise will close at 5pm today.
The local authority has been seeking views on which areas it should prioritise for savings.
Wirral is facing massive budget reductions and its 4,800 staff are bracing themselves for controversial changes to their employment contracts.
The workforce will be asked to accept changes to terms and conditions including reduced hours and – crucially – reduced redundancy payments.
Around 3,000 letters have been sent out advising staff their jobs are “at risk".
Officials have estimated that up to 500 staff will be made redundant.
As the consultation began, the council’s chief executive Graham Burgess warned that unless contract changes were accepted by trade unions, it would be impossible to lower costs to a sufficient level and up to 900 workers would have to go.
Mr Burgess also admitted compulsory severance, although still seen as a last resort, “would be hard to avoid.”
The first tranche of cuts will be discussed at cabinet on February 18 and decisions where the axe should fall will be made at a meeting of the full council on March 5.
The target for savings this year is in the region of £41m, but by 2015 the council will be expected to have reduced spending by £107m.
Comments(6)
Cheesy Peas
says...
10:47am Thu 31 Jan 13
MrsHF
says...
11:13am Thu 31 Jan 13
MDRyUK
says...
12:14pm Thu 31 Jan 13
Please prove me wrong. I want my assessment of the situation to be wrong. Sadly I think I’m about right but am willing to be wrong, truly I am!
At best people like Burgess/Davies will merely claim that the vast majority of the Wirral public agree with them and their ways of managing the authority. But not all of us do. And I challenge them to instigate a full and proper consultation with members of the public living within the Borough of Wirral. I bet you they don’t even listen to us in reality.
However if you disagree with any of my assessment, please double-check what happened in 2008-2009 when we had a Public Inquiry into the potential closure of 11 out of 24 Wirral public libraries around the borough. It never happened but one wonders whether in 2013-14 closing one or more of the libraries will finally happen? I wonder!
Disbelieve me but you just try and work out for yourselves how best to save £39 million + 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2014.
Some of us folk living on this great peninsula of our’s don’t like to be hoodwinked. Do we? Especially when the ‘What Really Matters?’ council inspired “consultation” was probably driven for reasons of political expediency. Leaders of the Council will never admit that now will they?
Thepleb
says...
1:56pm Fri 1 Feb 13
The six thousand people that have taken part either work for the council or know somebody who works there and will answer the questions given in favour of there self or family members or friends.
The council workers left after this cull will be low in moral low in pay and will definitely not be looking forward to the exciting times ahead to quote cllr Davies.
Hugo1008
says...
2:47pm Fri 1 Feb 13
It is they and they alone who will make the Final decisions backed by the rest of the useless Labour Parasites, and even a few waste of space Councilors from other Political Parties, with guilty secrets to hide.
Then collectively they will try to blame the present Coalition Government for all that befalls us, very carefully not mentioning the huge deficit in funds that they have accumulated over the past few years. And the deep scandal that has yet to be addressed and cleaned up, what a disgrace.
bigfoot says...
10:26am Thu 31 Jan 13